Here's the Letter Brock Turner Wrote to the Judge That Got Him Such a Light Sentence

"I wish I never was good at swimming or had the opportunity to attend Stanford, so maybe the newspapers wouldn't want to write stories about me.

By
Gina Mei

Jun 8, 2016

STANFORD DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

In the victim's powerful closing statement from the Stanford rape case, she voiced extreme disappointment that the man who sexually assaulted her, Brock Turner, had continuously "failed to exhibit sincere remorse or responsibility for his conduct," both throughout the trial and in his defendant's letter to the judge. Now, nearly a week after Turner was sentenced to six months in jail, a part of the letter that persuaded Judge Aaron Persky to give him such a lenient sentence has been obtained by The Guardian—and it proves just how much Turner is in denial.

Blaming the assault on "the influence of alcohol" and "party culture," not once does Turner directly admit to what he's done or take accountability for his actions in the letter. Beginning by discussing how the night of January 17th has affected him, Turner then delves into how he plans to be a better person in the future: by avoiding alcohol.

Throughout the letter, Turner references his former career as a promising athlete, and how much he's lost because of the trial. However, he continues to place the blame on alcohol and "peer pressure," claiming that college culture is what got him into this situation, rather than the fact that he sexually assaulted an unconscious woman behind a dumpster.

Turner goes on to insist—repeatedly—that his life has been ruined because of his decision to drink, rather than because of his decision to sexually assault someone. As a result, his proposed solution for preventing other instances of rape and assault in the future is to deconstruct society's "notions about partying and drinking."

Ultimately, Turner believes that he can help contribute to society moving forward by educating other students about "the destructive consequences of making decisions while under the influence of alcohol." But as the victim in the case told The Guardian, this line of thinking completely misses the point, and only further helps to fuel rape culture and the normalization of victim-blaming.

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